Eastern Illinois

Keith Closs blocked a layup with 1 second left in overtime to help Central Connecticut to its third consecutive victory, 93-92 over Eastern Illinois in a Mid-Continent Conference game Saturday at Detrick Gymnasium. Closs gave Central (5-6, 3-1 Mid-Continent) an 83-80 lead, making a reverse layup with 34 seconds left in regulation and two free-throws with 26 seconds left. Derrick Landrus made a three-pointer with 13 seconds left for Eastern Illinois (7-6, 3-2), forcing overtime.

John Brandt had two homers and Shane Kirkley hit one as Wofford defeated Quinnipiac 10-1 Monday in Columbia, S.C. Wofford (13-8) used three Quinnipiac errors to take a 2-0 lead before Quinnipiac's Wilson Matos (2-for-4) homered. Wofford added three runs in the second inning on two hits and two hit batters before Adam Wood's RBI double to left extended the lead to 6-1. Quinnipiac (0-4) had scoring chances in the fourth and fifth, but left five runners on. Fairfield 20, Valparaiso 11: Jim Girolamo went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and six RBI as Fairfield (2-5)

Appalachian St. Keeps Rolling; Duke's Losing Streak At 22 While its fans found new ways to celebrate the monumental upset of Michigan a week earlier, Appalachian State showed no signs of a letdown. Backup Trey Elder threw four touchdown passes and ran for another -- on the Mountaineers' first five possessions -- in a 48-7 win over Division II Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday in Boone, N.C. Swaths of fans wore T-shirts saying "We Brought Down The House 34-32." Other shirts read "Betcha know where Boone, N.C. is now!

Rhody's Run Ends Cordell Roane had 111 yards rushing and threw Richmond's first two touchdown passes of the season as the Spiders dealt Rhode Island its first loss, 28-0 Saturday in Richmond, Va. The Rams (7-1, 5-1 Atlantic 10), ranked No. 4 in Division I-AA, were off to the best start in school history. They fell one game short of tying the URI record for longest overall winning streak. Richmond (2-5, 2-3) recorded its first shutout in 52 games. The Rams were averaging an A10-best 281 yards a game rushing, but were held to 92 yards total offense.

John Ball scored three minutes into the second half to break a tie and Southern Connecticut went on to defeat LeMoyne 6-2 Saturday and clinch its third consecutive New England Collegiate Conference men's soccer title in Syracuse, N.Y. Carlos Rocha, assisted by Gil Hokayma, scored two goals in the first half, and Mike Morais added two in the second half for Southern (16-0- 3), ranked first in Division II. Southern has won the NECC conference championship 10 times in the conference's 13-year history.

Tonight's Saints-Cowboys game has implications for division titles and first-round byes. But it's also significant for Saints rookie coach Sean Payton -- a leading candidate for coach of the year -- who spent the last three seasons working for Bill Parcells in Dallas. He was the assistant head coach in charge of passing last season. Still, there's another reason Payton is fond of the Cowboys' Tony Romo, who took over for Drew Bledsoe at halftime against the Giants Oct. 23. They both were quarterbacks at Eastern Illinois and Payton had a hand in much of his development with the Cowboys.

John Brandt had two homers and Shane Kirkley hit one as Wofford defeated Quinnipiac 10-1 Monday in Columbia, S.C. Wofford (13-8) used three Quinnipiac errors to take a 2-0 lead before Quinnipiac's Wilson Matos (2-for-4) homered. Wofford added three runs in the second inning on two hits and two hit batters before Adam Wood's RBI double to left extended the lead to 6-1. Quinnipiac (0-4) had scoring chances in the fourth and fifth, but left five runners on. Fairfield 20, Valparaiso 11: Jim Girolamo went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and six RBI as Fairfield (2-5)

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT Softball: Second baseman Heather Mills of Milford and junior pitcher Sarah Mardis were named to Indiana State's Wolfe Sycamore Classic All-Tournament team. Mills batted .400 and drove in a run in a 4-2 victory over Eastern Illinois. Mardis (1-1) had a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings. The Blue Devils went 1-4. EASTERN CONNECTICUT Women's basketball: Led by Allison Coleman of Jewett City, Kathleen Burdelski of Newington and Deanne Prior of Scituate, R.I., the Warriors were 101-17 the past four years.

BASEBALL American League CHICAGO WHITE SOX--Activated LHP Josh Stewart from the 15-day disabled list and assigned Stewart and OF Armando Rios outright to Charlotte of the IL.CLEVELAND INDIANS--Named North Johnson general manager for Rancho Cucamonga of the California League. National League COLORADO ROCKIES--Claimed LHP Alex Herrera off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.MILWAUKEE BREWERS--Activated OF Geoff Jenkins, RHP Jayson Durocher and LHP Matt Ford from the 15-day disabled list and RHP Todd Ritchie and RHP Nick Neugebauer from the 60-day disabled list.

Rhody's Run Ends Cordell Roane had 111 yards rushing and threw Richmond's first two touchdown passes of the season as the Spiders dealt Rhode Island its first loss, 28-0 Saturday in Richmond, Va. The Rams (7-1, 5-1 Atlantic 10), ranked No. 4 in Division I-AA, were off to the best start in school history. They fell one game short of tying the URI record for longest overall winning streak. Richmond (2-5, 2-3) recorded its first shutout in 52 games. The Rams were averaging an A10-best 281 yards a game rushing, but were held to 92 yards total offense.

It's just the city championship. Yeah, right. Try telling that to any basketball player in Philadelphia. Sweeping the Big Five series and winning the City Series is a dream for every kid who ever dribbled a ball in Philly, and Villanova is one win away from a sweep this season. The Wildcats already have victories over Temple, St. Joseph's and LaSalle. And although the sweep won't be weighing on their minds until Feb. 6 when they play Penn at the First Union Center, there is reason for taking note of the possible accomplishment now. Villanova can thank senior guard Jermaine Medley for being in this position.

All season long, the UConn men's soccer team has waited for an opportunity like this. Finally, a team that thinks enough of itself to play an offensive-minded game against the Huskies. SMU will attack. The Mustangs know no other way. "I don't think we want to change anything," SMU coach Schellas Hyndman said. "If we sat back and played defense, we'd be throwing in the towel." Game on. UConn (18-3-2) and SMU (20-4) will meet in the NCAA College Cup semifinals today at Ericsson Stadium.